After the ''historic'' launch of satellites by the ISRO last week, our euphoria and chest thumping reached a crescendo. Several media and a few notable personalities from the West questioned the wisdom of this showmanship while India continued to languish in terrible poverty.

This
was not taken kindly by many of our classes in general and Bhakts in
particular (though they mildly reacted to the native criticism). They
responded to the criticism by berating and abusing the Western
critics.

In
Focus

They
were virtually asked to shut up and mind their business. Several
social media critics poured their heart out: "West is jealous of
our scientific and technological advancement. They criticise us
because they can't do such feats now. They are no more our rulers.
Let them shout. We don't care."

But
they do care. This section is longing for foreign education, job,
dollar appreciation and Foreign Direct Investment. If it is
favouring them, they ask the native critics to shut up citing the
encomium from the white skin. When a discordant view comes from the
West, the same section suddenly becomes 100% swadesi, hysteric and
turns to abusing. A real skin disease syndrome!

Whenever
the UN or American Senate or British Parliament recognises Yoga or
Gita or Veda, we are at the top of the world. But when the UN and
British government wanted to include caste discrimination as a human
rights violation, we were furious to tell them to mind their
business. Stock retort: "What do you know about our culture?''
A clear case of selective amnesia.

Despite
this type of empty rhetoric and bravado from Indian rulers and
classes since ages, we are not ashamed to beg our Western masters'
permission even to appoint elementary school teachers and workers in
primary health centres. We are not ashamed to beg them food, medical
help, consultancy for building even a minor culvert in an interior
village etc.

We
keep on begging H1-B visas. They impose conditions that India should
allow their highly subsidised agri-produce or medicines at
reduced/zero import duty. We shamelessly accept their dictates in the
interest of our children to go abroad, knowing full well the
disastrous consequences on the Indian farm sector or the native
pharma companies.

We
are not ashamed to keep on begging the Western masters (we beg even
Somalia, Ethiopia likes) to get a permanent berth in the
international feudal and Brahminical club viz UN Security Council.
Some Bhakts cite that Tatas are the top steel maker blah blah - - So
what? Please go and see the condition of the people who vacated their
homes and lands for Tatas to mine iron ore over last two centuries.

We
have no shame to produce doctors, engineers and business managers at
the cost of poorest people on earth and send them off to America,
Canada, EU and other white countries to subsidise their engineering,
medical and business expenditure. We have no shame to accept the
dictates of MNC pharma giants to subject our own people as Guinea
pigs for unethical and dangerous clinical trials.

The
air Indians breathe is turning more toxic by the day, says a new
study. According to medical journal The Lancet, over a million
Indians die every year due to air pollution and some of the worst
polluted cities of the world are in India. The smog over northern
India is extracting a heavy toll, every minute two lives are lost in
India due to ambient air pollution, the study says.

Further,
according to an estimate by the World Bank, this would amount to a
whopping $38 billion loss in income towards labour in India. Just
another example of our scientific and technological advancement. No
need to be ashamed of this crisis.

When
solar power rates have gone down to the level of Rs 3 per kwhr,
Modi-led government last year had agreed to give Westinghouse, the
crisis-ridden nuclear MNC, a rate of Rs 15 to 25 per kwhr. We have
lost our economic sovereignty to the World Bank, International
Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation (aka Yankees) and MNCs since
1991.

Why
did four lakh farmers commit suicide since 1995? Any idea? Because of
our shameless gulami to the Whites & Yellows. We dance even
before they order. Latest example: Less Cash business imposed on
those who have least cash.

The
Shame list is endless. For want of space, our stupid and archaic
social-political-religious practices are not listed. And these shames
are well known to the entire world.

Our
so called scientific and technological advances (bakwas) apart, we
are the poorest nation in the world. Every minute, four kids perish
due to malnutrition and one person succumbs to TB. Everyday 52
farmers are committing suicide. Our Child Mortality and Maternal
Mortality figures are world famous. Nearly 50% of our girl children
get married before attaining the age of 18. Two thirds of Indians
defecate in open places.

The
Indian Railways is notorious for converting our land an open latrine.
Not a day passes without some manual scavengers somewhere in the
country getting trapped in gutters to lose their life. Do the great
scientists and technologists have a solution to stop the death of the
scavengers who handle human excreta? They have none because their
kith and kin are not engaged in manual scavenging.

What
is the benefit the people at large are deriving from the so called
technological feats? (Especially like the ones in Picture 1). Please
have look at the child's swollen stomach- a sure sign of
malnutrition. We have no water here. But we go to search water on
moon. Can there be a greater shame? What is the use of a technology
for technology sake? What is so big about our scientific achievement
if it cannot solve the basic problems of the people at large?

Please
do notice an annual shame list known as Human Development Report
released by our Western masters. We are far below the Sub-Saharan
African nations in very many basic social parameters. Our satellites
and missile bravados apart, this is our pathetic condition: A new
report indicates that millions of Indians are excluded from economic
progress.

An
estimated 215 million Indians - roughly the population of Canada and
Pakistan combined - are largely excluded from economic progress.
These paupers, of sorts, have "zero assets", which means they do
not own a television set, a motorcycle, a mobile phone, or any of
seven items recognised by the government as being of economic value,
official data reveal.

The
attached picture (in Picture 2) below shows a worker dyeing garments
in Tirupur (the garment hub) which exports apparels to the USA and
EU. Notice the way a scientifically and technologically superior
nation exposes its worker to dangerous toxicity.

We
destroy our people, environment, water sources and what not to supply
clothing to our Western masters and to save their people and
environment. Virtually we are their bottom. Yet we are furious
(impotent rage) at the Whites for trolling our achievement of
launching 104 satellites.

Let
us curse ourselves - not our colonial masters.

Editorial NOTE: This article is categorized under
Opinion Section. The views expressed in this article are solely
those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of
merinews.com. In case you have a opposing view, please click
here to share the same in the comments section.